Crate lid



CII

Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The invention relates generally to closure members for shipping containers, and more particularly relates to a top or lid for crates of the character in general use for shipping fruits and vegetables.

It is perhaps well known that the common packing practice in packaging fruits, vegetables and the like, is to ll the containers or crates above the side and ends thereof so that the packed contents assume a generally spherical shape above the top of the container. This is known in the trade as a crown pack. A lid is then afxed to the crown pack container by compression and fastening means.

The present type cf conventional top or lid consists, broadly, of a plurality of spaced, at but flexible stays which span and are fastened to a pair of end strips. In attaching the lid to a crate, either manually or by mechanical means, the stays of the lid are compressed and flexed to an arcuate shape thereby conforming in a somewhat general manner to the crown of the pack. The compression of the stays of the lid is partially effected by the contents of the crate, the crown acting in the nature of a forming die therefor.

Certain disadvantages have been acknowledged to be present in the use of this standard type of lid. One lof these disadvantages is that a relatively large space is formed at each side of the crate upon afxing the lid, thereby affording a means of egress or spilling of the contents. Furthermore, the use of the present type of lid results in a shifting of the crown of the pack and oftentimes causes damages to the fruits or vegetables, such as bruising or deformation thereof.

It is an object of my invention to provide a crate lid which affords the maintenance of the crown pack and obviates the several above-mentioned disadvantages.

A further object of the invention lis to provide a crate lid of the aforementioned character which adapts itself readily to the standard crown packaging and which can be affixed to the standard crate by the conventional mechanical compressing and fastening means.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a crate lid which is inexpensively and easily manufactured and the materials of which need not depart from the materials presently used in fashicning the present type of lid.

Other objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective of an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a shipping crate with the embodiment of my invention illustrated in attached position.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on section line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In its preferred form, the crate lid of my invention preferably comprises a pair of end strips together with a plurality of stays which Vspan and are fastened to the end strips, some of the stays being of greater length than the others and the longer stays being held in position under compression, with the shorter stays held in position under tension.

As illustrated in Figure l of the drawing, I

provide a pair of end strips I I and I2, which conveniently can be formed of rigid, non-flexible material and which are cut to a length substantially equal to the width of the crate to which the lid is to be attached. I also provide a pair of stays I3 and I4, on side pieces, formed of flexible material such as relatively light wood, which preferably are cut to a length slightly greater than the length of the crate for which the lid is to be fashioned. The stays or side pieces I3 and III are fastened to the end strips II and I2 in sub'- stantially parallel relationship and adjacent opposite extremities of the end strips.

In accordance with my invention, a plurality of stays I6, I1 and I8, of greater length than the stays I3 and I4 but substantially of equal length, are fastened to the end strips I I and I2 intermediate the stays I3 and I4. The stays I6, I'I and I8 likewise are constructed of a flexible material, such as relatively light wood, and are flexed to an arcuate or bow shape when aIiiXed to the end strips I I and I2, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. The end strips II and I2 hold the stays I6, I 'I and I8 under compression in the arcuate positions shown, and the stays I3 and I4 are held in position under tension by virtue of the stresses applied by the arcuate or bow-shaped stays I6, I1 and I8. Any suitable means can be employed for fastening the several stays to the end strips II and I2, such as metal cleats. The several stays are arranged in substantially parallel relationship and are spaced from one another as shown.

In Figure 2 of the drawing, I have illustrated the lid of my invention in operative position affixed to a conventional crate I9 for shipping lettuce or like produce. It will be observed that inasmuch as all of the stays I3 to I8, inclusive, of the lid of my inventio-n are formed to greater length than the length of the crate to which the lid is to be attached, it is necessary to flex the several stays by applying pressure to the end strips II and I2, in order to apply the lid. Moreover, as the stays I3 and I4 of the lid are formed to a length which is shorter than the stays I6 to I8, inclusive, the flexing of the several stays, by virtue of the pressure applied to the end strips II and I2, will result in arching the stays I3 and I4 to a lesser degree of curvature than the degree of curvature assumed by the stays I6 to I 8, inclusive. This diiference in degree of curvature from a given plane between stays |73 and I4, on the one hand, and stays I6 to I8 inclusive, on the other hand, is augmented by the fact that' in the lid of my invention the stays I E to I8, inclusive, are pre-bent or assume arched positions upon afiixing the same to the end strips II and I2. Y

When in operative position attached to a crate, the lid of my invention more closely conforms to the co-ntour of the bulge or crown of the pack than do lids heretofore in use. This result or close conformity to the crown of the pack follows from the provision of a lid which includes stays of diierent lengths and which necessarily are arched or bent to` different degrees of curvature, all as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing. Furthermore, due to the fact that the outer stays I3 and I4 of my lid are shorter in length than the intermediate stays I6 to I8 inclusive, the arched positions assumed by the outer stays I3 and I4, by virtue of the pressure applied to the end strips II and I2 when the lid is affixed to the crate, are such that there is but a relatively Vsmall space on each side of the crate between the top of the sides thereof and the lid, thereby avoiding any tendency for the contents of the crate to be dislodged therefrom. As shown in Figure 3 of the drawing, the several stays I3 to I8 inclusive are exed laterally as Well as longitudinally when the lid is aixed to the crate, due to compression on the end strips and the forming action of the pack, thereby providing an additional deterrent for shifting of the crown and bruising of the contents of the crate.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that I am not to be limited to the embodiment shown, as my invention, as defined in the appended claims, can be embodied Vin a plurality and Variety of forms.

diate strip being flexed from ilat condition into a bow, and fastening means engaging opposite ends of said flexed intermediate strip and said frame for holding said intermediate strip in flexed condition.

2. A crate lid comprising a pair of at end pieces, side pieces joined to and holding said end pieces in spaced relationship, a resilient piece flexed'into a boW and longitudinally overlapping said end pieces, and means engaging the overlapping portions of said flexed piece and said at end pieces only for fastening said flexed piece to said end pieces.

3. A pre-bent and assembled flexible slat cover for crates comprising a pair of cross slats, one at each end of the cover, a plurality of longitudinally disposed slats forming the sides of the cover, a plurality of intermediate slats also 1ongitudinally disposed and bowed throughout their length, said bowed slats and side slats being secured at their outer ends to the cross slats, and said bowed slats being permanently maintained in bowed condition by the cross slats and the side slats which form a chord between the ends of the bowed slats.

4. A pre-bent and assembled flexible slat cover for crates comprising a pair of spaced straight side slats, a pair of cross slats to which the opposite ends of thev straight side slats are secured and an upwardly bowed intermediate slat secured at its ends'to the cross slats and being maintained in bowed condition by the straight side slats, said cross and longitudinally extending slats being flexible and adapted to be nailed to the ends o1' a crate when the assembled cover is applied.

ELLIS H. SPIEGL. 

